Catégorie : Colloques, Journées d’Études et Cycles de Conférences

University of British Columbia

The Archaeology of Mithraism

Description and organization

To harness the possibilities of archaeological approaches to Mithraism, this colloquium will bring together scholars from across Europe and North America who have excavated or worked closely with the material remains from mithraea. Many of these sites remain un- or only partially published; the opportunity to share and discuss this material is thus doubly important for moving Mithraic studies forward. Alba Iulia, the site of a newly discovered mithraeum (and the first to be scientifically excavated in the province of Dacia), will host the gathering.

The key questions we will pose include:

• What does the archaeology of each site reveal about the practice of Mithraic cult? What did worshippers actually do in (and around) mithraea? How often did they use such sanctuaries?
• How consistent are the archaeologically attested rites practiced in mithraea through time and space? How do we explain observed similarities and differences?
• What do these rites reveal about Mithraic communities’ engagements with one another, and about religious networks in the Roman world more broadly?

The conference will take place from October 26-28, 2017, at the Universitatea “1 Decembrie 1918” in Alba Iulia, Romania. October 26-27 will be two full days of conference papers and a poster session featuring the work of graduate students, followed by a day-long archaeological excursion on October 28. Sponsorship is provided by the Muzeul Naţional al Unirii (Alba Iulia), Universitatea “1 Decembrie 1918” (Alba Iulia), Babeş-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca), The Institute of Archaeology and the History of Art of the Romanian Academy (Cluj-Napoca Branch), and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), with the generous financial support of Alba County.

Programme

25 October 2017

Arrival of participants – accommodation at Parc Hotel or Mariss Hotel

16.00 – 19.00 – guided tour of the Vauban fortress and the Museum

19.30 – welcome dinner      

26 October 2017

9.00 – 9.30 – Registration – Senate Hall (Apor Palace), 1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia

9.30 – 10.00 – Official opening

Session 1 – chair Steven Hijmans

10.00 – 10.30 – Lucinda Dirven and Matthew M. McCarty – The mithraeum of Dura-Europos: glocalizing a Roman cult

10.30 – 11.00 – Michał Gawlikowski – The mitraeum in Hawarte in Syria

11.00 – 11.20 – Coffee break

11.20 – 11.50 – Artur Kaczor – Snake technique pottery in Mithraic cult

11.50 – 12.20 – Alexandra Ratzlaff – The Caesarea Mithraeum

12.20 – 12.50 – Andreas Hensen – Templa et spelaea Mithrae

13.00 – 15.00 Lunch break

Session 2 – chair Sorin Nemeti

15.00 – 15.30 – Jean Brodeur – Le mithraeum d’Angers (France)

15.30 – 16.00 – François Wiblé – Quelques particularités du mithraeum de Forum Claudii Vallensium / Martigny / Suisse

16.00 – 16.30 – Regula Ackermann, Sabine Deschler-Erb and Sarah Lo Russo – The Mithraeum at Kempraten (Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland): the interdisciplinary analysis project and initial results

16.30 – 16.50 – Coffee break

16.50 – 17.20 – Marleen Martens – Reconstructing cult practices and events from the evidence of finds and features from the mithraeum of Tienen (Belgium)

17.20 – 17.50 – Martin Henig and Penny Coombe – The Inveresk Mithraic altars in context

17.50 – 18.20 – Nicole Iu – Funerary Rituals in the Cult of Mithras

18.20 – 18.50 – Discussions

19.30 – Dinner

27 October 2017  

Session 3 – chair Martin Henig

09.30 – 10.00 – Massimiliano David – The newly discovered Mithraeum of the Multi-Coloured Marbles at Ostia

10.00 – 10.30 – Anna Danilova – Mithraism in Ostia: the Spatial Perspective

10.30 – 11.00 – Alessandro Melega – The Ostian mithraea. New archaeological investigations about last Mithraism

11.00 – 11.20 – Coffee break

11.20 – 11.50 – Attilio Mastrocinque – Mithras in Tarquinia

11.50 – 12.20 – Francesco Sirano – The Mithraeum of ancient Capua as archaeological context

12.20 – 12.50 – Philippe Chapon – La découverte d’un mithræum à Mariana

13.00 – 15.00 Lunch break

Session 4 – chair Ian Haynes

15.00 – 15.30 – Nataša Kolar – Ptuj Mithraea in Archives

15.30 – 16.00 – Mojca Vomer Gojkovič – Mithraism in Slovenia and the mithraea of Poetovio

16.00 – 16.30 – Gabriel Sicoe – On the production and distribution of Dacian tauroctonies

16.30 – 16.50 – Coffee break

16.50 – 17.20 – Mariana Egri, Matthew M. McCarty and Aurel Rustoiu – Mithraeum III at Apulum (Alba Iulia, Romania)

17.20 – 17.50 – Andreea Drăgan – Life in a mithraeum. The pottery discovered during the investigation of the Mithraeum III at Apulum (Alba Iulia, Romania)

17.50 – 18.20 – Beatrice Ciută and Georgeta El Susi – Reconstructing ancient diet: the case of the Mithraeum III in Apulum (Alba Iulia, Romania)

18.20 – 18.50 – Concluding discussions

19.30 – Farewell dinner at a local winery

28 October 2017

9.00 – 18.00 – Field trip by bus to Roman city Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa

19.00 – Dinner

29 October 2017

Departure of participants

Contact

Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies

Vancouver Campus

BUCH C228

1866 Main Mall

Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1

Tel 604 822 5613

(Text by the organizers)

Link

mithraism.cnrs.ubc.ca